Adèle Colson
Adèle Celestine Josephina Colson was the first woman to graduate from the Royal Carillon School 'Jef Denyn' in Belgium and the first woman in the world to earn a professional carillon certification.Life and career
Colson was born in Mechelen, Belgium, and studied voice and piano at the Mechelen Conservatory. She attempted to enroll at the Royal Carillon School, but lead faculty member refused to teach her because he believed the carillon should not be played by women. The namesake of the school, Jef Denyn, eventually agreed to take her on as a student.
Colson earned her carillon diploma on August 10, 1929, performing a range of repertoire including Jef Van Hoof's Praeludium quasi una fantasia, an original piece she composed, and Matthias van den Gheyn's third carillon prelude. Due to gender discrimination, she was never able to find ongoing employment as a carillonist and famously tore up her diploma. In the 1970s, Royal Carillon School director Piet van den Broek reissued her a diploma that is now preserved in the carillon archives of Bok Tower Gardens.
